Report No. 6 of 1 922 



A STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 



OF THE 



FISH SUPPLY OF MADRAS 



BY 



S. T. MOSES, M.A., F.z.s. 

 Zoological Assistant, Fisheries Department 



In India information regarding fish supplies is very meagre. 

 In the case of salt fish, "the sheet-anchor of the poor," the fish- 

 curing yard returns take cognizance of all that is cured in the 

 yards, omitting private produce. But as regards fresh fish no 

 complete account is on record though short and casual references 

 are found in the Gazetteers and census reports. These remarks 

 hold good for the Madras Presidency also, except for the existence 

 of two reports issued by the Fisheries Department. The following 

 report based on the statistics of fish supplies coming into the 

 Madras markets collected at the instance of the Hon'ble the 

 Minister for Development, for one year, is an attempt to do for 

 Madras what "A statistical analysis of the fishing industry of 

 Tuticorin (South India) " by Mr. James Hornell (Report No. 3, 

 1917), Madras Fisheries Bulletin, Volume XI, pages 67 — 117); has 

 done for Tuticorin. No such information has been compiled before 

 now, though Report No. 3 (1920), Madras Fisheries Bulletin, 

 Volume XII, pages 115 — 133, in which Mr. Ramaswami Nayudu deals 

 with the results of the Inshore Fishing Experiments, gives an 

 insight into the constitution of the food-fish fauna of Madras. 

 The detailed information in the present report giving the extent 

 of the sources of fish supply in Madras will, it is hoped, be of use 

 to all interested in the development of our fisheries and their 

 exploitation by the introduction of more powerful fishing gear 

 and up-to-date fishing methods. 



